Congress is arguing about how to pay for the government’s 2014 fiscal year, which will start Tuesday. It’s constitutionally required to fund the government by Sept. 30 each year, but has frequently turned to last-minute showdowns before paying the bills.

On Sept. 20, the House approved a stop-gap measure that would fund the government but also strip funding for the Affordable Care Act. Large parts of this health-care law, widely called Obamacare, are set to take effect with the new fiscal year.

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On Friday, the Senate passed its own bill that would maintain funding for Obamacare and pay for government operations. That legislation was sent to the House, setting up another last-minute drama over the weekend and on Monday.

Here are answers to some frequently asked questions about the potential effects of a government shutdown:

Q: How long would a shutdown last?

A: No one knows. Past shutdowns have lasted from one day to three weeks. Republicans in Congress may be wary of letting the shutdown happen at all, because the GOP took most of the blame for the last shutdown.

Q: When was the last federal shutdown? How did it play out?

A: The most recent shutdown was from mid-December 1995 to early January 1996 under President Clinton. It was triggered after Republicans in Congress demanded a seven-year budget plan that used different economic forecasts than those used by Clinton. It lasted 21 days. Republicans ended up passing legislation to keep the government open.

Q: How many federal workers are affected nationwide, locally?

A: Estimates say nearly half of the nation’s 2.1 million non-postal service federal workers could be furloughed during a shutdown. So, a large chunk of the 45,800 federal civilian workers in San Diego County could be placed on unpaid leave. The more than 90,000 uniformed military personnel at bases across the county would continue to serve and accrue pay, but their paychecks could be delayed.

Q: Which workers stay on the job?

A: All “essential” employees would be required to work, including those that provide for national security, conduct foreign relations essential to national security or protect the safety of life and property.

Q: Do Congress and the president still get paid during a shutdown?

A: Yes. They fall under the category of "essential" personnel.

Is another federal standoff looming?

Q: Yes. The nation is about to hit the federal debt ceiling in October leading to worries about another down-to-the-wire standoff. Republicans have said they would agree to increase the debt limit to avert a default only if Democrats accepted a list of Republican priorities, including a one-year delay of the health care law, a tax overhaul and a broad rollback of environmental regulations. Experts say this would be a damaging and first-ever default for the United States, and could come as early as October 17. That’s when The Treasury says it would have only $30 billion cash on hand to pay daily bills that can be as high as $60 billion, unless Congress were to raise the debt ceiling.